Everyone is asking me about the
new teacher’s standards which came into force on 1st Sep 2012. You
can view the official document via the link below.

While the general consensus is
that they are simpler and more concise, I refuse to believe that, in the
current climate of bashing and bullying teachers to within an inch of their
life, these changes are anything but bad news.

I’m playing devil’s advocate in
this post and showing you how your senior managers can manipulate and interpret
the new teachers standards to catch you out. I’m probably going to come across
as very negative and very cynical, but I guarantee these are the things you
will be encountering in the next academic year during your performance
appraisals.

1 Set high expectations which inspire, motivate and challenge pupils

• establish a safe and stimulating environment for pupils, rooted in
mutual respect

• set goals that stretch and challenge pupils of all backgrounds,
abilities and dispositions

• demonstrate consistently the positive attitudes, values and behaviour
which are expected of pupils.

This first point is open to
manipulation firstly on the ‘mutual respect’ point. If a student does not
respect you, as students generally tend not to, then it is your responsibility.
Also, I’m concerned about the last point, which states you must demonstrate
certain behaviours, without stating what those behaviours are. Senior
management are free to make up what they are retrospectively, so that you can
be told you are not demonstrating something which you had no idea you were
supposed to be.

2 Promote good progress and outcomes by pupils

• be accountable for pupils’ attainment, progress and outcomes

• be aware of pupils’ capabilities and their prior knowledge, and plan teaching
to build on these

• guide pupils to reflect on the progress they have made and their
emerging needs

• demonstrate knowledge and understanding of how pupils learn and how
this impacts on teaching

• encourage pupils to take a responsible and conscientious attitude to
their own work and study.

The first point here states
outright that you are solely responsible for students attainment in it’s
entirety, and therefore implies that the student isn’t responsible at all. So
that a student that makes no progress and doesn’t achieve very much through
their own means will still mean that you are in trouble. The last point also
starts with the word ‘encourage’ which to me states that you merely need to try
to get them to be conscientious, but I know that senior managers will interpret
this as you have to achieve a conscientious attitude in students.

Finally, the fourth point is far
far too vague for my liking, and whether you have achieved this or not will
need to be entirely based on an opinion rather than any evidence. It seems to
imply you need a knowledge of all the latest faddy pedagogy and how to apply
it, so if you do want evidence, senior managers can find one you’re not using
and claim you have no knowledge of it.

3 Demonstrate good subject and curriculum knowledge

• have a secure knowledge of the relevant subject(s) and curriculum areas,
foster and maintain pupils’ interest in the subject, and address misunderstandings

• demonstrate a critical understanding of developments in the subject
and curriculum areas, and promote the value of scholarship

• demonstrate an understanding of and take responsibility for promoting
high standards of literacy, articulacy and the correct use of standard English,
whatever the teacher’s specialist subject

This whole point is rather dodgy,
particularly if you are the only teacher of your subject in your educational
establishment. There is no reference to any kind of subject audit, so that you
could be judged on this point by someone who knows nothing about your subject.

Also, I have never heard the
phrase ‘the value of scholarship’ in my life, and find that particular point
vague enough to leave it too open to manipulation. Senior management could pull
something irrelevant out from your subject, and claim you don’t have a
‘critical understanding’ of it, and fail you on this standard with manufactured
evidence.

4 Plan and teach well structured lessons

• impart knowledge and develop understanding through effective use of lesson
time

• promote a love of learning and children’s intellectual curiosity

• set homework and plan other out-of-class activities to consolidate
and extend the knowledge and understanding pupils have acquired

• reflect systematically on the effectiveness of lessons and approaches
to teaching

• contribute to the design and provision of an engaging curriculum
within the relevant subject area(s).

Point 1 is again too vague, and
doesn’t state what is an effective use of lesson time. You could think you are
using it effectively, and your appraiser can just disagree based on nothing
more than opinion.

Although the second point says
you merely need to ‘promote’ ‘intellectual curiosity’, I think senior
management can interpret that as your students need to be engaged and curious
about your lesson 100% of the time. You can promote it to death, and if a
student is still not interested, then you’re in for it.

5 Adapt teaching to
respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils

• know when and how to differentiate appropriately, using approaches
which enable pupils to be taught effectively

• have a secure understanding of how a range of factors can inhibit pupils’
ability to learn, and how best to overcome these

• demonstrate an awareness of the physical, social and intellectual development
of children, and know how to adapt teaching to support pupils’ education at
different stages of development

• have a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils, including
those with special educational needs; those of high ability; those with English
as an additional language; those with disabilities; and be able to use and
evaluate distinctive teaching approaches to engage and support them.

The first two are once again
vague enough to allow a someone to fail you based on their opinion alone
without any evidence. The term ‘taught effectively’ is particularly bad, and I
can imagine senior managers saying something along the lines of, “Yes, you’ve
done everything I asked you to, but the students still aren’t being taught
effectively.”

Also the last point implies you
need specialist knowledge in all aspects of SEN, rather than just being able to
support them properly using in house SENCOs, you now need to do it all
yourself, it seems. It also makes a distinction between SEN and students with
disabilities, which I think is odd.

6 Make accurate and productive use of assessment

• know and understand how to assess the relevant subject and curriculum
areas, including statutory assessment requirements

• make use of formative and summative assessment to secure pupils’ progress

• use relevant data to monitor progress, set targets, and plan subsequent
lessons

• give pupils regular feedback, both orally and through accurate
marking, and encourage pupils to respond to the feedback.

I think the second point is a
brilliant example of everything that is wrong with teacher assessment. It
starts off brilliantly, asking for formative and summative assessment, so that
a teacher could show they were using both, and that’s job done on that
standard. However, there’s a get out clause at the end of it, ‘to secure
pupil’s progress’, so that you can be using both types of assessment, but a
senior manager can then say, “…but in my opinion it hasn’t secured progress,”
and suddenly you’ve failed on this standard after all.

7 Manage behaviour effectively to ensure a good and safe learning
environment

• have clear rules and routines for behaviour in classrooms, and take responsibility
for promoting good and courteous behaviour both in classrooms and around the
school, in accordance with the school’s behaviour policy

• have high expectations of behaviour, and establish a framework for
discipline with a range of strategies, using praise, sanctions and rewards
consistently and fairly manage classes effectively, using approaches which are
appropriate to pupils’ needs in order to involve and motivate them

Here’s another example of teachers
being asked to simply ‘promote’ something rather than be responsible for it, in
this case it’s ‘good and courteous behaviour’. I don’t for one second think
that any teacher will be able to argue that they’ve promoted this effectively
yet the student still chooses to misbehave – you will still be solely
responsible for their behaviour.

It does however state that you
are responsible for maintaining a good relationship with every single student
in your care – I’m sure you agree that this is a tall order in some cases and
you can, in theory, be failed on this standard as soon as one student takes a
permanent dislike to you.

8 Fulfil wider professional responsibilities

• make a positive contribution to the wider life and ethos of the
school

• develop effective professional relationships with colleagues, knowing
how and when to draw on advice and specialist support

• deploy support staff effectively

• take responsibility for improving teaching through appropriate professional
development, responding to advice and feedback from colleagues

• communicate effectively with parents with regard to pupils’
achievements and well-being.

Notice how this does not state
that you will photocopy, do displays, collect cash or any other administrative
tasks that teachers are asked to do regularly. However, you could argue that
they all count as ‘wider professional responsibilities’ because your refusal to
do them could be seen as not making a positive contribution to the school, as
in the first point.

To summarise, I think senior
managers are going to get you on these standards in the following ways:

Some of the standards are vague and it can
therefore be argued that it is the manager’s opinion that you have not met it.

Some standards mention you only need to
‘encourage’ or ‘promote’ things that teachers are currently held completely
responsible for, and I don’t think a distinction between the two levels of
accountability will be made.

Some standards make you responsible for
student’s attitudes and opinions, such as their relationship with you or the
amount of respect they have for you, which you cannot possibly control in their
entirety without learning mind control or brainwashing techniques. A student
may take an irrational dislike to you, and you’re in trouble.

Some standards ask senior managers to make a
judgement on things they may know nothing about and therefore can’t possibly
judge accurately, particularly with regards to subject knowledge.

There is use of language and particular phrases
that are not widely used or understood, and are frankly a little bit odd. This
leaves them open to interpretation, e.g. ‘the value of scholarship’, or,
‘intellectual curiosity’.

You seem to have sole responsibility for all SEN
in your class, with no mention of external support.